MOST people would go to great lengths to avoid working on the biggest party night of the year. But not Cian Stafford, 24, head bartender at theloft at Darling Harbour.

Previously, New Year's Eve parties had been a ''letdown and never as good as expected''. Mr Stafford, who will be working for the fifth New Year's Eve in a row, said he would prefer to ''have more fun and get paid for it''.

He will start a 12-hour shift at 3pm and expects to haul in tips that should double his take-home wage for the day.

''Darling Harbour has its own fireworks, so I don't feel like I'm missing out,'' he said.

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Mr Stafford will be serving endless champagne and a special New Year's Eve cocktail called glitterati, with edible glitter in the mix.

''I beg punters to not order Long Island iced teas. They taste terrible and are long and painful to make for any bartender,'' he said.

Hordes of taxi drivers will be on standby to take revellers home or to the next party destination.

''It will be an intense night,'' said Con Brakis, a cabbie of 35 years. ''There will be more drunks, there might be more violence and lots of incidents of people getting sick in our cabs.'' He said about 30 per cent of his fellow cabbies had chosen to work Monday night, but many were steering clear.

Mr Brakis has never skipped a New Year's Eve night shift because he can earn twice his normal pay.

When it is less than a minute to midnight, Mr Brakis will park his cab and join the countdown.

''I'll make sure to watch the fireworks,'' he said. ''And maybe like last time there will be a woman in the cab and I can give her a kiss.''

Sharon Cullington will also be working tomorrow night, minding 20-month-old twins.

But there will still be a celebratory atmosphere as she's holding a small party with the blessing of her employer. ''The family live in a beautiful three-storey home that backs on to Birchgrove Oval with a fabulous view of the Harbour Bridge,'' said Ms Cullington, a nanny of 10 years.

''They've let me invite a few friends over and together we will be looking after seven children.''

Ms Cullington, from Meet a Sitter, is so content with the arrangement she's waived her usual $150 babysitting fee. A harbour view, she said, was ''priceless''.